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Hull FC 23 Leeds Rhinos 16

4th August 2006

By Leeds Rhinos

Leeds fell to third in Super League as they were defeated by their nearest rivals Hull FC for the first time at the KC Stadium.

Leedsfell to third in Super League as they were defeated by their nearest rivals Hull FC for the first time at the KC Stadium. Jamie Thackray made his Rhinos debut against his former club and fellow new signing Clinton Toopi also made his Leeds bow, but neither were able to lift their team, who were looking to bounce back from their Challenge Cup exit last week. The Hull team though dominated throughout, continuing their amazing run under Peter Sharp by picking up their 14th win in 15 games. Paul Cooke returned to the side and was prominent throughout, although his three missed conversions in the first half meant Hull's half-time lead of 18-6 was slightly flattering for Leeds.

WP – Home MPU

Hull were superb throughout the first 40 minutes, with Sid Domic and Richard Whiting joining Gareth Raynor on the scoresheet. Raynor was the first to trouble the scoreboard, registering his sixth and seventh efforts against his former side this season. The first was a regulation finish after Cooke's pass, the second an opportune effort after the Leeds defence failed to deal with Shayne McMenemy's kick. Keith Senior responded for Leeds, but Hull edged further ahead before the hooter with efforts from Domic and Whiting. The former crashed on to Richard Horne's neat pass before the latter used some tidy footwork to dribble his way over the line via a ricochet off the post. Had Cooke not been so profligate with his conversions then Leeds would have had even more work to do come the start of the second period. As it was, Scott Donald's try soon after the restart left them just two points adrift, whilst things could have been even better for Smith had he not seen a try chalked off by video referee David Campbell.

Nathan Blacklock's knock-on from Sinfield's kick allowed Ali Lauitiiti to ground, although Campbell ruled Blacklock had been tackled in the air whilst in possession. Video replays suggested otherwise. To make matters worse for Leeds, Whiting then added his second despite appearing to be offside when setting off in pursuit of Horne's kick. Coke again missed the goal, but his timely drop goal on 67 minutes pushed Hull 23-10 ahead. Campbell then ruled Jamie Jones-Buchanan had knocked on when grounding the ball after Sinfield's kick, but it mattered little as Jones-Buchanan was soon crossing under the posts, but Hull hung to inflict the Rhinos fourth consecutive defeat.